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Johanna Drew Cluney

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American Hawaiian featherworker (1895–1978)
Johanna Drew Cluney
BornJohanna Keaioana Drew
October 6, 1895
Honolulu, O'ahu, Republic of Hawaii (now Hawaii, United States)
DiedFebruary 19, 1978(1978-02-19) (aged 82)
Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, United States
Burial placeNuuanu Memorial Park, Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, United States
Other namesJohanna Drew–Cluney, Johanna Keaioana Drew Cluney
Occupation(s)Cultural artisan, conservator, collector
Known forLei hulu (feather lei), haku hulu (featherwork)
SpouseWilliam Allen Cluney (m. 1914–1931; divorce)
Children5
RelativesKamaka Oukamakaokawaukeoiopiopio Stillman (maternal grandmother)
AwardsLiving Treasures of Hawaii (1977)

Johanna Keaioana Drew Cluney (née Johanna Keaioana Drew; 1895–1978) was an American Hawaiian featherwork artist, conservator, and collector of featherwork.

Early life and family

Johanna Keaioana Drew was born on October 6, 1895, in Honolulu, Republic of Hawaii (now Hawaii, United States). Her parents were Keaupuiohiwa Katherine (née Stillman), and Levi J. Drew. Cluney's maternal grandfather was Henry Martyn Stillman (1822–1891), a banker from Boston who had married into the Hawaiian nobility, through his marriage to Kamaka Oukamakaokawaukeoiopiopio Stillman.

In 1914, she married William Allen Cluney (1889–1941). They had five children together, and divorced in 1931.

Career

Cluney was technically a member of Hawaiian nobility through her ancestry, but Hawaiian politics were changing at the time of her birth, and with those changes, there was a loss of social power within her family. As a result she struggled financially in her early life, and became interested in the traditional Hawaiian featherwork as a spiritual source.

Her collection began when someone was throwing out a peacock feather lei, and she asked if she could keep it. Cluney started making feather lei in 1935. She learned how to make the feather leis from an older Hawaiian woman, and early on she would collect feathers at the butchers and learned to dye them. Cluney would stitch the feathers in place, and it would often take thousands of stitches. For many years she worked at the Bishop Museum, helping with the conservation of the Hawaiian Royal featherwork.

In 1966, Cluney was awarded the Hawaiiana Award by the Honolulu Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters, for her work in making feather leis. In 1977, she was awarded the Living Treasures of Hawaii award. She was a member of the Daughters of Hawaii, and was active in their events. A film was made in her honor, Hawaiian Featherwork With Johanna Drew Cluney (1970).

She died at the age of 82 on February 19, 1978, at Queen's Hospital in Honolulu; and was buried at Nuuanu Memorial Park. She left a collection from 1930 to 1978 to the Kamehameha Schools of handicrafts made in feathers, shells, seeds, lauhala, and manufactured hats, called the Johanna Drew Cluney Collection.

See also

References

  1. ^ Taylor, Clarice B. (March 13, 1959). "Johanna Drew Cluney feather worker". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 36. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Collector of Feather leis is Tacoma Visitor". The News Tribune. August 30, 1952. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Queen of feather leis, Johanna D. Cluney, 82". Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Obituary). 1978-02-22. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Hawaii's heritage in featherwork". The Boston Globe. April 30, 1977. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "William Allen Cluney and Johanna Drew Cluney". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1931-08-15. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Five Divorces Are Granted By Watson". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1931-07-08. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Damon, Annabel (November 2, 1950). "Feather Scarcity, Rapidly Increasing Market Accounts For Fast Disappearing Lei Making Art". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "6,480 Stitches Make Her Leis". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 21, 1966. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Johanna Drew Cluney perseveres and preserves culture". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. October 29, 1961. p. 40. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Hawaiian Motif". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1954-10-20. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Queen's Home Open House". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. October 21, 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Keaau Library's Film Night". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. April 4, 1983. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  13. Miller, Melissa C. (1989). Moving Images of the Pacific Islands: A Catalogue of Films and Videos. Center for Pacific Islands Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. p. 56.
  14. "Hawaiiana Artist, Mrs. Cluney Dies". Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Obituary). February 22, 1978. p. 47. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
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